Need a Prostate Exam? Here's What to Expect

You're due for a prostate exam, but you don't know what to expect.

So, what is this exam like?

Regular check-ups are essential for maintaining your health, and a prostate exam is crucial to preventive care for men. Not only is it a screening test for early signs of prostate cancer, but it also helps detect other pote...

Mind-Body Effects of Qigong Might Help Ease Cancer-Related Fatigue

When the late Brown University researcher Catherine Kerr had cancer, she benefited from an ancient Chinese practice known as qigong and began looking into its impact on others.

Now, her colleagues are building on Kerr’s work, studying how practicing qigong affects a person’s perception of fatigue in a small group of 24 female cancer p...

AHA News: 38-Year-Old Has Had 3 Hearts: 'It's a Third Chance'

Melanie Wickersheim has no memory of the first time her heart gave her trouble. She was an infant, and her pediatric myocarditis – an inflammation of the muscular walls of the heart – resolved before she was old enough to know anything had ever been wrong.

She spent the first 10 years of her life like any other kid in Los Angeles, beli...

Baby Boys 'Talk' More During First Year Compared to Girls

Girls have long been thought to have a language advantage over boys as infants. But new research finds that boys make more vocalization sounds than girls do in the early months of life.

These squeals, growls and short word-like sounds such as “ba” or “aga” are precursors to speech, scientists say.

And baby boys do more of thi...

Low-Dose Colchicine Might Prevent or Delay Knee, Hip Replacements

An anti-inflammatory drug that has been around for over 2,000 years might help delay a very modern problem: hip and knee replacements.

That's the suggestion of a new study finding that older adults who used the drug — called colchicine — were less likely to need hip or knee replacement surgery over the next two years, versus those give...

Long COVID Can Make It Tougher to Exercise, and Research Is Revealing Why

Lack of energy for exercise is a common problem for folks with so-called long COVID.

New research pinpoints the most likely reason why: diminished capacity to get the heart pumping fast enough to support the effort. The name for this is chronotropic incompetence.

“The amount of aerobic exercise an individual can do is limited ...

Ketamine Nasal Spray Could Be New Treatment for Migraines

A nasal spray containing ketamine might help relieve migraine headaches when other treatments fail, a new study suggests.

Ketamine is a synthetic anesthetic with hallucinogenic effects that is sometimes used intravenously for migraine headaches. It's being tried for treatment-resistant depression, too. But it's also a potentially addi...

FDA Issues Warning About Compounded Versions of Wegovy, Ozempic

WEDNESDAY, May 31, 2023 (HealthDay News) – Patients taking semaglutide for type 2 diabetes or weight loss should be careful about where they’re getting the medication, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration warned Tuesday.

Shortages of the drug, commonly sold as Wegovy and Ozempic, has led to the making of compounded versions of the dru...

Former First Lady Rosalynn Carter Diagnosed With Dementia

WEDNESDAY, May 31, 2023 (HealthDay News) – Former first lady Rosalynn Carter has dementia but continues to live at home, the Carter Center announced Tuesday.

Carter spends her days there with her husband, former president Jimmy Carter, who himself is receiving hospice care.

Rosalynn Carter is 95 and Jimmy Carter is 98.

“T...

Sick Restaurant Workers Fuel Many Foodborne Illness Outbreaks

WEDNESDAY, May 31, 2023 (HealthDay News) – Providing sick leave to restaurant workers could help prevent the spread of foodborne illness because ill workers are key drivers of outbreaks at restaurants, a new government report shows.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention published data on Tuesday covering 800 outbreaks of fo...

Viruses in the Gut Might Help People Live to Be 100

A key to living to 100 may be the viruses living in a centenarian’s guts.

“This snapshot of how the virome interacts with gut microbiomes could tell us about how microbial and viral ecology evolves over the lifetime of a person,” said Ramnik Xavier, director of immunology and co-director of the infectious disease and microbiome progr...

Worried About Cataracts? Here's What You Need to Know

Cataracts are the leading cause of blindness around the world, but surgery can restore vision.

“Unlike many of the other major eye diseases, such as glaucoma or diabetes-related eye disease, cataracts can be easily and painlessly treated by surgery to remove and replace the eye’s lens, restoring sight for most patients,” said Jeff To...

What Is Avascular Necrosis and How Does It Affect Bones?

What happens when the blood supply to your bones is somehow damaged?

The condition has a name, avascular necrosis, and it can trigger the death of bone cells.

Other common names are osteonecrosis or bone infarction. Bone is alive and requires nourishment from the blood supply to stay healthy. If the blood supply is not restored to t...

4,000-Year-Old DNA Identifies Britain's Oldest Known Case of Plague

Researchers have identified the oldest cases of plague in Britain to date, with DNA that is 4,000 years old.

The team from the Francis Crick Institute in London has found three ancient British cases of Yersinia pestis -- the bacteria that causes the plague -- in skeleton samples of two children and one woman.

Two of the c...

Child Development Stages and Milestones: What to Expect

From their first smile to their first step to the first day of school, children go through a remarkable transformation on their way to adulthood.

Here, experts explore the five developmental stages, from infancy to adulthood, and take a deeper look at the developmental milestones acquired along the way. Understanding each stage's developme...

Authoritative Parenting: What It Is, Techniques & Discipline

Children’s personalities and moods can be as diverse as the cosmos, so figuring out the best parenting style can be challenging.

To help, experts here take a deep dive into authoritative parenting, including what it’s like, examples of authoritative parenting style, its disciplinary strategies and how it compares to authoritarian paren...

PMS: What It Is, Symptoms & How to Get Relief

Are you tired of feeling moody, bloated and achy every month right before you get your period?

You're not alone. Premenstrual syndrome (PMS) is a common condition that affects many women. Here, experts explore what PMS is, its symptoms and, most importantly, how to find relief from those pesky monthly symptoms. Keep reading to understand ...

HPV: What It Is, Symptoms in Men vs. Women & Treatment

Talking about sexually transmitted infections (STIs) can be uncomfortable. But whether you’re talking to your partner, child or doctor, these are important conversations to have.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates 20% of Americans had an STI in 2018. There are still more undetected, unreported and untreated STI...

AHA News: Higher Cardiovascular Risk Score Linked to Lower Cognitive Function

A risk calculator used to predict cardiovascular disease also may help predict a person's poor cognitive function, new research suggests.

The study, published Tuesday in the Journal of the American Heart Association, found that the higher a person's 10-year cardiovascular risk score, the worse they scored on tests for cognitive function, a...

More 'Height-Challenged' Men Are Getting Leg-Lengthening Surgeries

Some short men really struggle with their lack of height, feeling that they are both literally and figuratively looked down upon by others.

That’s why an increasing number of height-challenged men are turning to limb-lengthening surgery -- an expensive, potentially painful, months-long procedure that will add a few extra inches to their ...